Grazia Varisco
If…
1 October–28 November, 2015
Vernissage: 1 October, 6–8.30pm
Cortesi Gallery London
41 & 43 Maddox Street
London W1S 2PD
UK
Hours: Monday–Friday 10am–6pm,
Saturday noon–6pm
Curated by Michele Robecchi
Cortesi Gallery is delighted to present, for the first time in London, a solo exhibition by the Italian artist Grazia Varisco.
Following the successful exhibition Grazia Varisco: Filo Rosso 1960/2015 at Cortesi Lugano in Switzerland, the gallery is now pleased to introduce Varisco’s body of work to the London audience.
Born in Milan in 1937, Grazia Varisco has been a key representative of programmed and kinetic art throughout her artistic career. Together with Giovanni Anceschi, Gianni Colombo, Davide Boriani and Gabriele De Vecchi, she was a member of the Italian Gruppo T (T Group, where “T” refers to the concept of time as a new content of art). Founded in 1959 in Milan, Gruppo T was one of the most important collectives of kinetic art in Europe, introducing innovative forms of art through the creation of perceptual experiments and interactive environments designed to encourage and generate different and unexpected reactions in the viewer.
Varisco was one of the earliest artists to explore concepts such as motion and changes in time while seeking a direct interaction with her audience. Through the use of simple geometric signs, her artworks inhabit the space around them, creating different spatial dimensions that challenge the viewer’s perception and disorientate the senses.
The London exhibition will give the visitors a unique opportunity to experience a comprehensive overview of Varisco’s research, with works spanning from the early ’60s to recent years: from Tavole Magnetiche (Magnetic Boards) (1959–61), where magnetic elements based on elementary dialectic polarities like order/disorder, empty/full, open/closed, and symmetrical/asymmetrical are arranged on metal surfaces and can be moved around, to Schemi luminosi variabili (Variable Luminous Schemes) (1962–64), a series of kinetic objects that use the rotary motion of the overlapping screens is used to produce continuous variations and repetitions, capturing the unconditional attention of the viewer.
The show will also include more recent works, such as Quadri Comunicanti in acciaio (Communicating Paintings in Steel) (2011). Formally minimal, the works nevertheless manage to dominate the surface on which they appear, simultaneously providing a glimpse of continuity and instability.
The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue published by Mousse Publishing and edited by Michele Robecchi.
Cortesi Gallery, Lugano / London
Cortesi Gallery was founded in 2013 in Lugano by collector and art dealer Stefano Cortesi. Alongside his experience as an entrepreneur and manager in the financial sector, Stefano Cortesi has developed a passion for modern and contemporary art, assembling a major collection that has been the starting point of the activity of the gallery. From its first exhibitions—Arte Italiana 6090, featuring works by Italian artists from the 1960s to the 1990s, ranging between conceptualism, Arte Povera and the trans-avant-garde; and OUT OF THE BLUE, which included artworks by internationally renowned artists of our era—Cortesi Gallery has been proposing a research on the art of the last 50 years. As Stefano Cortesi himself explains, “The idea behind Cortesi Gallery is to build a meeting ground for collectors, scholars, and art lovers, striking a balance between the cultural world and the market” (Mousse Magazine). Supporting Cortesi in running the gallery are his sons Lorenzo and Andrea Cortesi, who share the same passion for contemporary and modern art and bring their own experiences in this field to the gallery. In May 2015, Cortesi Gallery inaugurated a new space in London with the exhibition Great Expectations #2, an overview of the Zero movement. Cortesi Gallery London continues and complements the gallery’s successful work in Switzerland.
For further information:
Maria Cristina Giusti, Rhiannon Pickles PR
cristina [at] picklespr.com / T +4407925810607